Waste disposal system

ABSTRACT

A combined exhaust manifold and boiler unit for employing the hot exhaust gases from an engine to vaporize liquids such as the effluent from a septic tank with secondary heating coils available for vaporizing the liquid when the engine is not running. The unit either may be an integral or split housing of aluminum construction which maximizes heat transfer and minimizes manufacturing costs.

O Unlted States Patent 1151 3,635,276 Green et al. 1 51 Jan. 18, 1972 154] WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM 1,892,681 1/1933 Rankin ..2l0/181 x [72] inventors: Harry W. Green; Melvin L. Dietrich, both 34870l5 12/1969 Boesmh of North Olmsted Ohio 3,504,797 4/1970 Re1d ..210ll52 3,509,999 5/1970 Re1d et al ..2l0/152 X [73] Assignee: The Standard Products Company, Cleve- 1,561,898 11/1925 land, Ohio 2,475,552 7/1949 -Luhrs ..165/52 X [22] Filed: June 23, 1969 Primary Exammer-Sam1h N. Zaharna PP 835,615 Attorney-Meyer, Tilberry and Body 52 U.S. c1 ..1s9/29, 159/1, 165/52, [571 ABSTRACT 210/152 A combined exhaust manifold and boiler unit for employing [51] Ill. Cl the hot exhaust gases from an engine to vaporize liquids such [5 8] held of Search j 210/152 159/29 45 as the effluent from a septic tank with secondary heating coils l available for vaporizing the liquid when the engine is not running. The unit either may be an integral or split housing of [56] References Cited aluminum construction which maximizes heat transfer and UNITED STATES PATENTS minimizes manufacturing costs.

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a W N'- M E 7 F- N T M m I w L Y mm V AL HE M ATTORNEYS PATENTED JAN I 8 I72 sum u [1F 4 WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM This invention relates generally to improvements in waste disposal systems and more particularly to a disposal system especially designed for use in vehicular units for human transportation.

Although the present invention will be disclosed in terms of its applicability to vehicular units such as buses, trucks, house trailers, mobile homes, boats and airplanes or the like, it will be appreciated that the same waste disposal system may find utility in domestic housing installations or the like where a conventional sewage system such as is presently in use in most large municipalities is not available. In addition, it will be appreciated that the system may also find utility for purposes other than waste disposal, as for example, as a part of a water purification unit.

There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,337 a basic approach to a waste disposal system particularly adapted to vehicular units. That system employs the concept of utilizing a heat source as a means of vaporizing the effluent from a septic tank thereby sterilizing the effluent with the generated vapors then being discharged to the atmosphere. As disclosed in that patent, one means of heating theeffluent is to use heated gases generated as a byproduct from the engine normally present in vehicular units. This invention carries forward this concept of using waste heated gases to vaporize the septic tank effluent.

It will be appreciated that in a system in which the exhaust gases of the engine are used to vaporize the effluent from the septic tank, it is highly desirable to vaporize as much of the liquid as possible during the periods of time that the vehicle is in motion and the engine is running at relatively high temperatures. Moreover, it is preferable that the effluent be subjected to the heated gases before the gases coming from the engine have had an opportunity to lose their heat content. Still further, it is also desirable that the effluent be exposed to the exhaust gases in such a manner that heat transfer is maximized while yet retaining the advantages of a self-contained waste disposalsystem. And, finally, the entire system must be so designed that a sufficient quantity of liquid may be vaporized in a given period of time as to make the system practical.

With these criteria in mind, it is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved waste disposal system which employs a combined exhaust manifold and boiler unit for vaporizing the effluent from a septic tank.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved boiler system for vaporizing septic tank effluent and which may include independently operable, secondary means for vaporizing the effluent.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a boiler system for vaporizing septic tank effluent which is inexpensive to manufacture and which may be readily installed and cleaned.

In accordance with the principal aspects of this invention, there is provided a boiler system which, in its preferred form, is either of an extruded or cast aluminum and which defines a combined boiler and exhaust unit. The exhaust portion of the unit is separated from the boiler portion by a common wall with the exhaust portion forming a part of the exhaust system through which the exhaust gases pass. The heat present in the exhaust gases as the gases leave the engine is transferred through the common wall to the boiler unit and this heat is then used to vaporize the septic tank effluent in the boiler. The resulting vapors are substantially sterile and may be discharged either into the atmosphere or back into the exhaust system.

By employing either an extruded or cast aluminum design, it is possible to obtain a readily produced, unitary construction having the desired heat transfer characteristics. Moreover, the combined exhaust and boiler are compact and lightweight, thus requiring very little additional space. In addition, end plates may be removably attached to the body of the unit so that, simply by removingthe end plates, the interior of the boiler may be periodically cleaned. Alternatively, the ends may be integral with the housing with a removable plug provided for periodic flushing of the unit.

Supplementary heating means such as electric coils may be embedded in the unit or applied in the form of strip heaters with the electric coils providing an independent, alternative means for vaporizing septic tank efiluent even when the vehicle is not operating and the engine is not operating.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation viewof a waste disposal unit constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the unit of Figure 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevation view of the unit of Figure 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view in end elevation of a modified form of the boiler unit.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, in perspective of a modified form of unit employing a split housing clamped over the exhaust pipe.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view in end elevation of a further modified form of the exhaust portion of the unit.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view in elevation illustrating a further modified form of the unit.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of a modified form of the boiler wall of the unit of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an end elevation view, partly in section, of another modified form of the boiler and exhaust unit.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of Figure 9.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated a waste disposal unit constructed in accordance with this invention and indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. This waste disposal unit comprises a housing 12, preferably constructed of aluminum. The housing 12 includes a pair of longitudinally extending exterior compartments of chambers 14,16 with the chamber 14 being positioned beneath the chamber 16. The chamber 16 includes a lower portion in which liquids may be boiled and an upper portion comprising a steam chamber 20 in which the generated vapors are collected. A common wall 22 comprising the bottom wall of chamber 16 and the upper wall of chamber 14 separated the two chambers. Appropriate means such as end plates 24,26 may be employed to close the opposite ends of the two chambers 14 and 16.

The chamber 14 preferably is in the form of a through passage or bore 28 which extends longitudinally through the housing 12 and which is adapted to be connected into the line of the exhaust system Thus, as illustrated in the preferred form of the invention, the end plates 26 comprise adapters which are secured by screws 29 or other means to the ends of the housing. Each adapter is adapted to be connected to the exhaust system of an engine by a flanged exhaust conduit 30 and elbow 31. As illustrated, there are two such exhaust pipes connected at opposite ends of the housing 12 with the two exhaust pipes providing means whereby hot exhaust gases are directed into the through passage 28 in the. housing I2. An outlet port 32 may be formed in the under surface of the housing 12 with the outlet port intersecting the passage 28 whereby exhaust gases in the passage 28 may pass through the port 32 into the exhaust pipe 33 and thereafter be discharged to the atmosphere.

It will be appreciated that the described unit may be employed with other types of exhaust arrangements. For example, the outlet bore 32 may be dispensed with and the exhaust gases may be passed from one of the housing through the passage 28 and out the other end of the housing into the exhaust system. Accordingly, it is not intended that the illustrated exhaust system is in any way to be limiting but rather is merely illustrative of one type of exhaust system with which the disclosed unit may be employed.

An inlet conduit 40 is mounted on the top of the steam chamber 20 and provides a means whereby effluent from a septic tank or other source of liquid may be introduced into the chamber 16. Also mounted on top of the steam chamber is a steam outlet conduit 42 which provides a means for discharging the vapors generated in the steam chamber portion of chamber 16. The vapors discharged through the steam outlet 42 may be discharged directly into the atmosphere or they may be channeled into another part of the exhaust system where they are intermixed with the exhaust gases and thereafter discharged to the atmosphere.

The unit further includes a secondary means of heating the liquid in the chamber 16. This secondary heating means comprises a plurality of electric coils 44 which, in the embodiment shown, are located in a plurality of transversely extending bores 46 formed in the wall 22. Appropriate electrical leads 47 interconnect each of the electrical coils 44 with a control 48 a and an appropriate source of electrical energy.

The described unit operates in the following manner. With the engine running, hot exhaust gases pass from the exhaust ports in the engine block into the exhaust conduits 30 where they are channeled into the passage 28 and thereafter out of the outlet 32 into the exhaust system. The heat possessed by the hot exhaust gases is readily absorbed by the aluminum housing 12, and particularly the common wall 22 on the interior of the housing, so that the wall 22 rapidly attains a temperature which is substantially above the boiling point of water. As a result, any liquid introduced through the conduit 40 into the boiler portion 18 is caused to boil and readily vaporizes with the vapors rising into the steam chamber 20 and thereafter out of the steam chamber through the steam outlet 42. In this manner, any effluent from a septic tank which may be carried by the vehicular unit may be vaporized and thereby sterilized so that the resulting vapors may be discharged either into the atmosphere or otherwise disposed of.

Several advantages of this arrangement should be noted. Thus, the unit combines in a single housing both the functions of a boiler and a portion of the exhaust system so that very little space in addition to the space normally required for the conventional exhaust manifold is required for the unit. Moreover, by passing the hot exhaust gases through the housing 12 immediately after these gases have emerged from the engine, maximum use is made of the heat possessed by those gases for the purpose of vaporizing the liquid. In this fashion, the efficiency of the unit is maximized so that substantial quantities of liquid may be vaporized. The secondary heating means in the form of electrical coils provide a simple, yet effective, way of operating the boiler even when the engine is not running. Thus, by simply energizing the coils, heat is generated which is readily transferred to the liquid in the chamber 16 so that vaporization occurs. With this arrangement, it is possible not only to dispose of the septic tank effluent during the period of time that the vehicle is in motion and the engine is running but also to continue disposal of the effluent even while the vehicle is at rest, thus making the unit particularly desirable for use with vehicular units such as boats where there may be prolonged periods when the engine is not running but the boat is occupied.

It is contemplated that the aluminum housing 12 may be fabricated either by an extrusion process or by casting. If the housing is extruded, it is necessary only to add the end plates 24,26 to close the chambers 14, 16 and to bore the holes to receive the conduits 40,42 and the electrical coils 44. Thus, after the housing has been extruded, only simple machining operations are required to complete the construction. Moreover, by having removable end plates 24 it is possible periodically to remove these plates and clean from the chamber 16 any residue which may have accumulated as a result of the vaporization process. If the housing is cast, it is desirable that at least one end of chamber 16 be left open so that a removable end plate can be attached to facilitate the cleaning operation or, in the alternative, that a removable plug be inserted in one end wall to facilitate periodic flushing of the unit.

It will be apparent that modifications to this arrangement can be made. For example, the heating coils 44 might be positioned to extend directly into the chamber I6 where they would be immersed in the liquid, although it is desirable to put the heating coils in the wall 22 since this provides for a more even distribution of the heat across the entire length and width of the chamber 16.

Another modification is illustrated in FIG. 4 in which a plurality of longitudinally extending fins 50 extend upwardly from the floor 22 with these fins 50 providing additional surface area over which the heat from the hot exhaust gases may be transferred to the liquid. A FIG. modification appears in FIG. 6 wherein the through bore 28' is formed with inwardly projecting fins 28a for the same purpose as the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Still a further modification is illustrated in FIG. 5 and contemplates splitting the ho'using l2 longitudinally and transversely through passage 28 to form two portions 12a, 12b and clamping the split portions around an existing exhaust pipe 60. With this arrangement, the gases flowing through the exhaust pipe heat the pipe which, in turn, transfers the heat to the adjacent walls of passage 28.

A further modification of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 7 and comprises a waste disposal unit 70 which is adapted to be used in substantially the same fashion as that of the embodiments described above. However, the disposal unit 70 is formed in two distinct portions, a lower exhaust housing portion 72 and an upper boiler housing portion 74. The exhaust housing 72 comprises a substantially box shaped construction which, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, is adapted to be interconnected by appropriate adapters to the exhaust system with the interior 76 of the exhaust housing 72 comprising a passage through which exhaust gases may flow.

The boiler housing 74 comprises a separate unit which is adapted to be received over and close the otherwise open top of the exhaust housing 72. Thus, the boiler housing includes a common wall 78 which overlies the exhaust housing with the longitudinal edges of the wall being secured by appropriate fasteners 79 to the upstanding walls of the exhaust housing. Depending from the lower surface of the wall 78 are a plurality of fins 80 which extend downward into the interior 76 of the exhaust housing 72. The upper surface of the housing 74 includes a pair of upstanding walls 81 which, together with appropriate end walls (not shown), define a boiler chamber 82. A closure member 83 is received over this chamber 82 and defines a steam chamber 84 in which steam vapors may be collected and discharged through an appropriate outlet port, not shown.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 functions in all substantial respects like the above described embodiments. Thus, hot exhaust gases are introduced to the chamber 76. As the gases flow through this chamber, the heat which the gases possess is transferred to the fins 80 and the common wall 78. As the wall 78 becomes heated, the liquid which is in the chamber 82' likewise is heated and vaporized with the vapors being collected in the steam chamber 84 and subsequently discharged therefrom.

As in the embodiment of FIG. 1, supplementary heating coils may be embedded in the common wall 78 or, altematively, may be applied to the exterior surfaces of the walls 81 in the form of flat strip heaters, not shown.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 may be interconnected in an exhaust system in any of a number of different ways. For example, the unit of FIG. 7 may be connected to an exhaust system through end plates which pass the exhaust gases from either end of the unit to a center discharge conduit. Alternatively,

the exhaust gases may be introduced through the side of the' exhaust housing 72. With this latter arrangement, the hot exhaust gases entering through the one sidewall will be directed against the opposite sidewall of the housing. Since it is contemplated that the housing will be fabricated from a material such as aluminum, it may be desirable to employ a stainless steel liner 88 on the interior walls of the housing 72 thereby to avoid undue heating of the aluminum walls.

FIG. 8 illustrates a further modification of the embodiment of FIG. 7 wherein the side walls 81 of the boiler housing each have a pair of longitudinally extending, outwardly projecting ribs 90. The area between the ribs 90 may be employed to receive strip heaters by which supplementary heat may be provided in the manner mentioned previously. Alternatively, a cover plate 92 may be attached to the ribs 90 thereby to define an interior space 94 in which either insulation may be placed or through which a cooling medium may be circulated.

Although each of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 8 has the boiler chamber positioned above the exhaust chamber, it will be appreciated that other arrangements may be employed. For example, there is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 a unit 100 in which the exhaust chamber 102 is positioned within a housing 104. The housing has a transverse dimension substantially greater than chamber 102 and thereby defines a fluid chamber 106 on either side of chamber 102. With this arrangement, the unit is particularly adapted for use where there is a limitation on the height which the unit may have.

Liquid may be introduced to chambers 106 through an inlet chamber 108 on the bottom of the unit. Apertures 110 communicate inlet chamber 108 with chamber 106. An outlet 112 in the top of unit 100 provides a means of escape for the steam generated in chambers 106.

As in the embodiments of FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the exhaust chamber 102 may include internal fins 114. In addition, the outer wall of chamber 102 may be provided with upper and lower fins 116,118. The upper fins are located adjacent the outlet tube 112 and assure an elevated temperature for the steam as it passes into the tube. The lower fins 1 18 extend into inlet chamber 108 and serve to preheat the liquid as it enters the unit.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An extruded evaporator unit for use with a fuel-burning engine having an exhaust system through which waste heat passes, said extruded evaporator unit comprising; an elongated housing having a bottom wall and spaced-apart sidewalls integral with said bottom wall to define a passageway, said housing having open end portions, said passageway having a substantially uniform cross-sectional area from one end to the other of said housing, a top wall formed integrally with said sidewalls, a pair of end walls attached to said end portions of said housing to form a first chamber in said housing, a second chamber formed with said housing on top of said top wall, said end walls including adapter means for connecting said exhaust system to said first chamber so that waste heat flows through said chamber, an outlet in said first chamber for waste heat flowing therethrough, connecting means for connecting said second chamber to a source of liquid to be vaporized, a steam outlet in said second chamber, at least one bore formed through one of said sidewalls and extending into said top wall, and electric heater means positioned in said bore for heating said top wall.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein both of said end walls have adapter means for connecting said exhaust system to supply waste heat to said first chamber through both of said end walls, said outlet for waste heat being formed in said bottom wall. 

1. An extruded evaporator unit for use with a fuel-burning engine having an exhaust system through which waste heat passes, said extruded evaporator unit comprising; an elongated housing having a bottom wall and spaced-apart sidewalls integral with said bottom wall to define a passageway, said housing having open end portions, said passageway having a substantially uniform cross-sectional area from one end to the otHer of said housing, a top wall formed integrally with said sidewalls, a pair of end walls attached to said end portions of said housing to form a first chamber in said housing, a second chamber formed with said housing on top of said top wall, said end walls including adapter means for connecting said exhaust system to said first chamber so that waste heat flows through said chamber, an outlet in said first chamber for waste heat flowing therethrough, connecting means for connecting said second chamber to a source of liquid to be vaporized, a steam outlet in said second chamber, at least one bore formed through one of said sidewalls and extending into said top wall, and electric heater means positioned in said bore for heating said top wall.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein both of said end walls have adapter means for connecting said exhaust system to supply waste heat to said first chamber through both of said end walls, said outlet for waste heat being formed in said bottom wall. 